JENIE SAN JUAN DELA CRUZ and minor CHRISTIAN DELA CRUZ "AQUINO," represented by JE-NIE SAN JUAN DELA CRUZ vs. RONALD PAUL S. GRACIA, in his capacity as City Civil Registrar of Antipolo CityG.R. No. 177728               July 31, 2009CARPIO MORALES, J.:

DOCTRINE:Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by R.A. 9255, permits an illegitimate child to use the sur-name of his/her father if the latter had expressly recognized him/her as his offspring through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or through an admission made in a public or private handwritten instru-ment. The recognition made in any of these documents is, in itself, a consummated act of acknowledg-ment of the child’s paternity; hence, no separate action for judicial approval is necessary. That a father who acknowledges paternity of a child through a written instrument must affix his signature thereon is clearly implied in Article 176 of the Family Code.

FACTS:For several months in 2005, then 21-year old petitioner Jenie De la Cruz and then 19-year old Dominique Aquino lived together as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage. They resided in the house of Dominique’s parents at Rizal.

On September 4, 2005, Dominique died. After almost two months, Jenie, who continued to live with Do-minique’s parents, gave birth to her herein co-petitioner minor child Christian Dela Cruz "Aquino" at the Antipolo Doctors Hospital, Antipolo City.

Jenie applied for registration of the child’s birth, using Dominique’s surname Aquino, with the Office of the City Civil Registrar, Antipolo City, in support of which she submitted the child’s Certificate of Live Birth, Af-fidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) which she had executed and signed, and Affidavit of Ac-knowledgment executed by Dominique’s father. Both affidavits attested, inter alia, that during the lifetime of Dominique, he had continuously acknowledged his yet unborn child, and that his paternity had never been questioned. Jenie also attached to the AUSF a document entitled "AUTOBIOGRAPHY" which Do-minique, during his lifetime, wrote in his own handwriting (This was however not signed).

By letter, respondent denied Jenie’s application for registration on the ground that he was born out of wedlock and the father unfortunately died prior to his birth and has no more capacity to acknowledge his paternity to the child.

ISSUE: Whether the unsigned handwritten statement of the deceased father of a minor can be consid-ered as a recognition of paternity within the contemplation of Art. 176 of the FC, as amended by R.A. 9255.

HELD:YES. Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by R.A. 9255, permits an illegitimate child to use the surname of his/her father if the latter had expressly recognized him/her as his offspring through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or through an admission made in a public or private handwritten in-strument. The recognition made in any of these documents is, in itself, a consummated act of acknowl-edgment of the child’s paternity; hence, no separate action for judicial approval is necessary. That a fa-ther who acknowledges paternity of a child through a written instrument must affix his signature thereon is clearly implied in Article 176 of the Family Code.

In the present case, however, special circumstances exist to hold that Dominique’s Autobiography, though unsigned by him, substantially satisfies the requirement of the law.

First, Dominique died about two months prior to the child’s birth. Second, the relevant matters in the Auto-biography, unquestionably handwritten by Dominique, correspond to the facts culled from the testimonial evidence Jenie proffered. Third, Jenie’s testimony is corroborated by the Affidavit of Acknowledgment of Dominique’s father and testimony of his brother Joseph whose hereditary rights could be affected by the registration of the questioned recognition of the child. These circumstances indicating Dominique’s pater-nity of the child give life to his statements in his Autobiography that "JENIE DELA CRUZ" is "MY WIFE" as "WE FELL IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER" and "NOW SHE IS PREGNANT AND FOR THAT WE LIVE TOGETHER."

This Court's rulings further specify what incriminating acts are acceptable as evidence to establish filia-tion. In Pe Lim v. CA, a case petitioner often cites, we stated that the issue of paternity still has to be re-solved by such conventional evidence as the relevant incriminating verbal and written acts by the putative father. Under Article 278 of the New Civil Code, voluntary recognition by a parent shall be made in the record of birth, a will, a statement before a court of record, or in any authentic writing. To be effective, the claim of filiation must be made by the putative father himself and the writing must be the writing of the pu-tative father.

In the case at bar, there is no dispute that the earlier quoted statements in Dominique’s Autobiography have been made and written by him. Taken together with the other relevant facts extant herein – that Do-minique, during his lifetime, and Jenie were living together as common-law spouses for several months in 2005 at his parents’ house in Pulang-lupa, Dulumbayan, Teresa, Rizal; she was pregnant when Do-minique died on September 4, 2005; and about two months after his death, Jenie gave birth to the child – they sufficiently establish that the child of Jenie is Dominique’s.